There is extensive evidence that provision of potassium as well as sodium may be of vital importance in the treatment of a wide variety of metabolically disturbed patients (1-3). Physicians sometimes are hesitant to administer potassium, however, because they are concerned that such therapy may result in potassium intoxication.The present studies were undertaken in an effort to gather information which would facilitate considerations of this problem.Specifically, the aims of this study were threefold: The first was to determine the upper limit of potassium intake compatible with body potassium homeostasis.
The education of parents to the danger of accidental poisoning is an important aspect of office and clinic pediatrics. Since this preventive instruction can be time-consuming and incomplete in the usual medical interview, attention is called to the simple device of a display cabinet in the waiting room. In the display used in our clinic, the upper shelf shows common items actually ingested by our patients; the middle shelf contains those responsible for fatalities; the lower shelf demonstrates some of the discomforting elements of treatment.
The effectiveness of this exhibit has been attested to by a decreased incidence of poisonings and continued parental interest in the information presented.
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